Examination timetabling at the University has come under fire after students taking a postgraduate exam weren’t provided with the necessary materials.
Students taking the compulsory ‘Statistics and Economics’ 20 credit module had to share essential statistical tables and didn’t even have calculators given to them at the beginning of the exam resulting in a delay of half an hour. Second-year Chemistry students taking an examination in the same room also had to wait.
Chemistry student Millie Perkins said that being forced to wait was very stressful for her. “I already felt a bit anxious and nervous but the prolonged wait made me feel so nervous I actually felt nauseous. It wasn’t good at all and it cannot have helped my performance.”
Oversights were apparent from the beginning when there weren’t enough seats for Chemstry students, with some being sent to take their examinations elsewhere.
It quickly became apparent that calculators and statistical tables had not been provided for the Economics students. The invigilators then went from Langwith, where the exam was being held, to Central Hall and the Physics centre in search of the materials. This delayed the start of both exams by 30 minutes.
A concerned second-year Chemistry student told Vision, “When the invigilator returned, he said that there weren’t enough statistical tables in the whole University to go around, at which point the Economics students laughed. It was a joke.”
Out of date statistics booklets were provided but quickly rejected. Students were then forced to share what tables there were, putting their hands up whenever they needed one.
YUSU Academic Officer Graeme Osborn spoke about how disappointed he was to hear about the errors made in these examinations. “These are exactly the sorts of things departments and the University can and absolutely should have planned out in advance. Students being disadvantaged or having extra stress placed on them because of a lack of planning or forethought by departments is completely unacceptable.”
Jen Winter, Assistant Registrar from the University exams office explained how resources had been stretched over this exam period.
“This year has been particularly challenging for us in terms of the implementation of the Common Assessment Period. Last year there were 3544 students sitting exams during a three week period. This year, that increased to 9940 as a result of the modularisation of PGT programmes second year.
“This has caused a degree of pressure on the resources of the Examination Office. There are enough calculators and statistical tables to support the current number of exam sits at this point. But unfortunately, this has required a great deal of shuffling of resources in order to ensure that they are at the right place at the right time.
“For the exam in question, this shuffling resulted in a delay in the start of the examinations. The exams office apologises for this error and any inconvenience caused by the delay. All students were given the requisite time for their examinations, and all appropriate resources were made available to the best of our knowledge.”
The Chemistry department also released a short statement to Vision.
“We work exceptionally hard to ensure that our students get the best possible experience during examination periods. In the event that issues occur with the running of particular exams, we take these up directly with the centre. We prefer not to conduct that dialogue in the public arena.”